Revelations in a Killers Den
by PICKET-FENCES-CLOSER
Summary: Maxine is in his clutches and is being thrust into a darkness that she couldn't ever imagine. Kenny is fighting to bring his wife and children home, before they are lost in the dark forever. Sequel to my Ending of Revelations of Vengeance.
1. Chapter 1

Hated the ending? I liked the idea of Max not getting rescued and her own impulsiveness being her downfall. This is going to be her transition into her new life, as Kenny and Jimmy try to bring her and Ella home. The ending of the previous story, is not the ending here. There is always a twist.

This take on the story was a bit inspired by the first author writing that Max was glad that Deputy Lana Jacobs was killed in the line of duty, and I thought that showed real darkness in her character.

 **Killers Den: Day 2**

"Good Morning, Maxine," He said, standing in the doorway and watching her scramble back in bed away from him. "Did you sleep well?"

She shook her head, pulling the blanket around her. Murderer, she thought, I killed someone last night. One day with him and I killed someone.

He looked at her still caked with dried blood and smiled slowly at her. "I hated to make you sleep in this condition, Maxine, but your work was sloppy, even for your first time. You let your fear control you."

Ella, she thought, as he sat on the bed and cupped her face in his hand. Shaking, as he studied her for a long moment, she couldn't speak or move, as his smile broadened.

"You're safe here. I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I'm here to train and educate you. Yes, your work was sloppy and you cut blindly, but you had a firm grip on the knife and you didn't stop until I told you to. With the proper training, you'll reach your full potential.""

A serial killer, she thought, like him. Agree, work with him…then Ella and I can run. Kenny…he'll find us. He'll never give up on us.

He handed her a paper. "We have a full schedule today."

Train me, she thought, to kill. I couldn't stop last night. He's waiting for me to say something. She nodded, reading the schedule he had handed her. "I can shower now?"

He stood and unlocked her bathroom. "You need to keep the door open."

She nodded. "Okay."

"You don't need to be afraid," he said again, as she slowly climbed out of the bed, not taking her eyes off him. "You're home now."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 2**

"She stabbed her in the heart first. She died in seconds," Carter said. "The other wounds were superficial, after she died. Do you really believe Max killed her?"

"Max knocked Kenny out and ran off with him," Jimmy said. "To save her daughter, I don't know what to believe. I think she would do anything to keep Ella safe."

"She isn't a killer."

"This guy plans on turning her into one," Jimmy said, looking at the body. "According to Kenny, that is what he wants from her."

"Sheriff?" Deputy Thompson said. "A video just came in."

 **Killers Den: Day 2**

Surreal, Max thought, as they ate breakfast together at the table in the gourmet kitchen. No windows, she thought, where are we? Underground? When did he have time to cook all of this? Taking a sip of the fresh squeezed orange juice, she felt him studying her.

"It's all organic," he said. "We're going to ensure you have a healthy pregnancy. Your fitness is very important."

She swallowed her eggs. "Why are you doing all of this? If you just want to turn me into a serial killer why does the rest of this matter? Why am I sitting here, in this dress, eating eggs with you? Why aren't you just having me a stab a body again? Why are you concerned about by fitness and health? My baby? Where is my daughter?"

He reached across and squeezed her hand, taking in her pink long-sleeved swing dress, blown out hair, and fear. "I love you, Maxine, I have since I first saw you 10 years ago. Your happiness and health are very important to me."

"Seeing Ella would make me happier. Returning her to Kenny would make me ecstatic."

His grin broadened, interlocking their fingers. "You have much work to complete before you see Ella."

"What if I refuse?"

"You've already agreed. You've already killed," he said. "Ella will be well taken care of by me, as long as you take your training seriously. You will be reunited with her in good time. Finish your breakfast, and we'll get started."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 2**

 _"You do this, or Ella will," he said, holding the screaming toddler, as Max looked at him in horror. "She will watch me strap you to that table, slice you open, and then I will began training her, as I plan on training you. Pick up the knife, Maxine."_

 _"Please," she begged, as Ella continued to scream. "Let me calm her down her first."_

 _"Pick up the knife."_

 _Max turned and looked at the woman…Kill her? I can't…no, Ella. "Don't make her watch this. I'll do it, just take her. I'll do whatever you want if you just don't make her see this."_

 _He smiled at her, smoothing down Ella's wild hair. "You'll let me train you?"_

 _She nodded. "I'll do whatever you want. Train me."_

 _He opened a sliding panel and put a screaming Ella in the soundproof room. "Do it."_

 _Max gripped the knife, her ankle shackle preventing her from stabbing him, and brought it down into the women's heart._

Jimmy sat back, as he watched his deputy break down in hysterics as her captor pulled her to her feet and demanded she cut again. Looking at Carter and Thompson. "This was last night."

Carter looked at his blood drenched friend on the screen. "He forced her by threatening Ella. You saw her expression, she was terrified."

Jimmy nodded. Train her? She agreed…We need to find her now. "It's examine room. This was last night and they still had time to dump the body. I want a list of every abandoned building in a 100-mile radius. Get Kenny in here."

 **Killers Den: Day 2**

"Don't look away. Don't flinch," he said, pausing the video. "Do you need a moment, Maxine?"

He filmed himself, she thought, dissecting a live victim. Using it show me…I've seen autopsies. I can do this. I need to be what he wants right now. "I'm pregnant, I get nausea. I'll be fine."

He rewound a bit, as he handed her the flat ginger ale. "Sip it. I need you to focus. Do you have questions so far?"

She looked down at her notebook, where she was using the pen to mark the same cuts along the diagram. "Does this look, right?"

He looked at her detailed notes, a squeezed her shoulder. "You are paying attention. Very nice, My Love."

A killing chart, she thought, what to cut to prolong suffering, and he's proud of me? How could I draw this so calmly? Go, be what he wants right now. "I wasn't sure I got the major veins right. Can we watch that part again?"

He sat back down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You can watch whatever parts you want."

Max forced herself not to pull away at his touch. Do it. Be who he wants. Make him trust me. She scooted closer to him, as he laid his other hand on her still flat stomach. "I'm really going to be able to do all of that? That's what you're training me to do?"

He smiled at her, as she laid her hand on top of his on her stomach. "To be, Maxine, not to do. This is a basic anatomy training. I gave you the syllabus. I'm going to leave you here, I want you to review the videos and books. I'll be back in four hours, and I want you to have a written plan and diagram for Number two. Do you understand?"

"You want me to design a plan to murder someone."

"You know where to cut now. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Don't disappoint me. I'm going to check in on Ella now," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Lunch is on the table."

 **Sheriff's Station: Day 2**

"She's my wife. Ella is my daughter. You're not keeping me out of this," Kenny said, pacing Jimmy's office. "Look what he made her do! He's going to kill both of them!"

"He's not going to kill her," Jimmy said. "He made her kill someone. She said it to you, he wants to make her into a serial killer. He said it in the video, he plans on training her. If she does what he wants, he'll keep her alive. She'll buy us as much time as she can."

"While he turns her into a serial killer? She isn't, she won't, she can't," Kenny said. "We need to get her back. Now. She's pregnant, god, she's pregnant. She killed someone…Max…she'll do whatever she wants if he uses Ella as leverage. The guilt of killing that woman will…she'll think she deserves this. She already did."

"We'll get her back, Kenny. She needs to hold on until we do."

 **Killers Den: Day 2**

"You really are quite lovely," he said, looking at her curled up on the couch with the anatomy book and a mug of tea.

"I didn't hear you come back," she said, watching as he locked the door behind him. "I was reading and…How is Ella? Is she okay?"

"Did you enjoy your lunch?" he asked, checking her ankle shackle. "I'm hoping soon I can trust you enough not to use these.

What is he doing, she thought, showing me gore, giving me a three-foot radius to move, teaching me how to slice people open, making me write this disgusting kill plan…then makes me gourmet meals? "Yes. How is Ella?"

He settled down next to her, looking at the pages she was studying. "Your daughter is just fine. You don't need to worry about her, if you continue with your training. You can see her when you've completed it."

When I'm a serial killer, she thought numbly, whatever it takes to get her out of here and home to Kenny. Looking back at the book she had been so engrossed in, I just spent hours studying how to dissect veins…and planning on how to kill someone. "When will that be? How long will you be training me? How will you know when I'm complete?"

"So many questions," he teased. "We've barely started. The length of your training depends on you, Maxine, and how long it takes you to embrace the real you. Show me your Kill Plan and then I made us baked chicken for dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

**Killers Den: Day 5**

"Very nice," he said, examining her dissection of the practice torso. "Much improved, Maxine. How did it feel to you?"

Awful, horrible, disgusting, she thought, I can't keep doing this. "I felt more in control on this one. The first five, I hesitated and I had to go back over my initial cuts. I opened her up on the first try, I could have cut deeper here, but I was worried about puncturing the kidney too soon."

"What would have happened then?"

"She would have bled out too quickly. She wouldn't have suffered," Max said, as he stood behind her and surveyed her dissection. "I didn't nick the artery this time either, when I opened the chest."

"This is enough for today. I'm very proud of you."

She felt herself flush at his compliment, despite her disgust at what she was doing. I have improved, she thought, looking back at the torso. He is a good teacher…even if it's a class to train me to be a serial killer. "Should I change for dinner?"

"I do like you like this," he smiled, taking in the blood -stained scrubs and messy bun. He took her hand and guided her back to her room. "I'll be back for you in a hour, My Love."

Max leaned against the locked door, eyeing the camera that watched her every move. Calm, she thought, no reactions. Pulling off her bloody scrubs, she put them in the basket by the door. Looking at blood dotting her arms, she touched it in morbid fascination. Shaking her head, she dropped her arm and headed for the shower.

 **Sheriff Station: Day 5**

"Her name was Allison Carpenter," Thompson said. "She was a kindergarten teacher in Windsor, who had been missing for six weeks. They liked the husband for it, until the video of Max…you know."

Max, who we have no idea how to track. He took them and vanished, Jimmy thought, just left the other missing women in the woods and took her. What was she thinking? "The video was scrubbed clean. We don't know where it was shot. His prints aren't in the system, he's a ghost."

"A ghost who fixated on Max for someone reason. We need to know why."

Max attracts the crazies, Jimmy thought, it's why Kenny is so protective of her. He won't survive losing her. "We need to know where she met him."

 **Killers Den: Day 5**

"What is this place? Where are we?" Max asked, as she took a bite whole wheat pasta with turkey meatballs. "Who are you?"

"This place?" he repeated. "My great grandparents created this spot, and my family as expanded it over the years. It's undetectable from the ground."

"Have you brought other people here? Ones that you…train?"

"So many questions," he said with a smile. "Your curiosity has always been a becoming trait. I tried with others, I had to perfect my teaching techniques, so when I found you, I could train you properly. You saw some of my previous pupils in the videos."

Max stared at him for a long moment, her dinner threatening to come up. Stay calm, don't react, like he taught me. No matter what he is showing and teaching me, I can't react like I did with Number One. She took another bite of her dinner. "How far did they get in their training?"

He smiled, noting her control of her fear and horror at what he had just told her. "They all failed out by Day Seven."

The day we kill Number Two, she thought, what I've been practicing for. "Do you think I'll pass?"

"I know you will."

His words chilling her to her core, Max smiled nervously at him. "Do you have time to review with me after dinner?"

"Of course I have time for that," he said. "Gather your things, I'll meet you in the study after I finish the dishes."

"You're not going to," she started, standing up slowly. "I mean…you always escort me and my ankle is shackled when I'm by myself. I can go?"

"Can I trust you, Maxine?"

He wouldn't let me doing this if there was any way out, a weapon I could find, she thought, or if I could get to Ella. It's a test, I can't fail it. "I'm not sure yet."

He stood, taking her hands in his. "Your honesty is refreshing. Stay, keep talking to me, I enjoy our conversations."

 **Kenny's Hotel: Day 5**

"Come back and stay with us," Jill said, leaving the dinner she brought him on the dresser. "You shouldn't be alone."

I should be with my wife and child, Kenny thought, Max shouldn't be out there alone. "I can't. She knocked me out and ran. She could do the same to him. She'll come back."

"She used mercy," Jill said. "She didn't make that woman suffer more than she had too."

"There is nothing to go on. She'll do whatever he wants, as long as he can hold Ella over her."

"Why her?" Jill asked. "Why did he want her? He wants to turn her into a serial killer? Why did he pick her?"

"Her guilt," Kenny said. "She feels guilty about the women he killed to get her attention, for him taking Ella and…We don't know how and or where he met her. Max didn't know, before she left. She should have…this is just like her. Reckless. She mellowed out, after she had Ella, she thought things through more and didn't just leap into a fire. She can't keep doing this."

"It's okay to be mad at her."

"When I get her back."

 **Killers Den: Day 7**

Stay calm, she thought, as she stared at the bound and gagged woman on the metal table. I could stab him in the neck and run. Find Ella, get out, go home.

"Maxine?" he pressed. "We've discussed this. You're prepared. You're ready."

She nodded, looking at the row of scalpels. To kill, she thought, what I'm trained to do.

"Do you remember what we talked about at breakfast?"

Over whole wheat pancakes and smoothies, she thought, casually discussing on how trying to escape and hurting and killing him would end for me and Ella. She would take my place, be trained like I am. Protect her, I must protect her. Reviewing my carefully written Kill Plan. No way out, only he has the codes. Ella is here, somewhere in this maze…we would run out of food and water. "Of course."

"You're making me very proud."

Max nodded, chilled down to core, as she stared at the woman on the table. I'm going to kill her. It's what he's waiting for…it's what he's training me for. "I don't…. I don't know if I can do this."

"You're a killer now, Maxine. Control your fear and pick up your scalpel."

"Don't make me do this."

"You know how to do this. You've been practicing. You know exactly what to do. Be the killer that you are."

For Ella, she thought, forcing herself not to shake. Ella…to get back to her. Killer, she thought, looking at him, be the killer he thinks I am. I killed that other woman, I can only justify it to save Ella from this…this though. There is no coming back if I do this.

He stepped back, leaning against the locked door, as she picked up the scalpel. "Show me."

She looked at the terror in the other women's eyes and knew it was mirrored in her own. Don't apologize to her, he'll hate it if I do. Cut her open. Do what's in my Kill Plan. Show him I'm learning and becoming what he wants. I've practiced this dozens of times…she's just alive this time.

"Maxine?"

"I can't," she sobbed. "Please, don't make me do this. You don't have to let me go…you can do whatever you want to me…Don't make me do this."

"Control you breathing," he said, taking her hands in his. "Center yourself again. Look at me, you were born to do this. Follow the plan you wrote. This is what the last week was preparing you for. Kill her."

She nodded, breathing in and out. Ella, for her. Do what he trained me to do. Bleed her out. Picking up the scalpel, she turned back to the table.


	3. Chapter 3

**Killers Den: Day 7**

"Very good job," he said, placing his hands on her waist and surveying her work. "Your cutwork is better than I thought it would be on Number Two. You compensated well for her small movements."

Max nodded, too numb and stunned to move, as he pointed out her cuts along the minor veins and arteries, before her big one to the jugular. I killed her…no, I tortured her. I made it hurt. Three hours of opening her veins.

"You cut through some, as to be expected this early in your training. How did this feel compared to the woman you stabbed to death your first night here?"

You holding Ella, threatening to make her do it if I didn't, she thought numbly, screaming and stabbing…me coldly cutting this woman until she bled out. This is it, she thought, this is who he wants me to be.

"This is the real you, My Love, the one who spent hours planning what she was going to do in here today. The one that planned every little cut of her kill. Look at your work. This is art."

She nodded, as he held her steady. Look, she thought, I did this. His pride and excitement…two innocent women, by my hand. I have to say something. He's waiting for me to say something. "I'm sorry I panicked and cried in the beginning. I know you were disappointed. It won't happen again."

"I was," he said, running his finger along the body, gathering blood with it. "You more than made up for it with this work. Maxine, look at what you accomplished."

She shivered, as he ran his blood covered finger over her lips. Killer, she thought, look what I've done in a week…What am I going to be when he's finished with me?

 **Sheriff Station: Day 7**

"His name is Michael Hunter," Thompson said. "He's a doctor, a surgeon, he's been on sabbatical from Greenbay General for six months. He's from Deer Park, Michigan…His family has a hunting cabin here."

"Where?" Jimmy said, feeling the first spark of hope since the video had come in. She didn't do that in a hunting cabin. "Get the team together."

"Do you want to tell Kenny?"

"No. He doesn't think clearly when it's Max."

 **Killers Den: Day 7**

"I'm fine," Max lied, sitting on her bed in athletic shorts and a tank top. "Really. I just need to…process what I did today."

He sat down on the bed next to her, and cupped her face in his hand. "You need to control your emotions, Maxine. Your breakdown today, while you stifled it quickly, cannot happen again. Do we need to review?"

"I can control them. I need to practice, breathe, focus…I'll do better next time. I know I can do better. I want to do better on Number Three."

He leaned back against the wall, on her twin bed, gesturing her to join him. "What do you want to do to her?"

"Are you teaching me something new first? I'm not supposed to kill her for five days, and the syllabus was all about the lower abdomen before that."

His grin broadened, as he just looked at her. "You have been paying attention."

What is wrong with me, Max thought numbly, I did read ahead, memorized that thing…and I already am thinking about how to do it? This place, this training, it's changing me. "The kidneys might be a good way to start."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 7**

"Burned down?" Kenny said. "Was there…she wasn't in it?"

"It had burned years ago. She wasn't there, Kenny. Michael Hunter, has she ever mentioned him?"

"No. She didn't know him when we had him here. She doesn't know him. Max tells me everything."

"Why would he choose her? It can't be random. I need her schedule, appointment books, everything."

"Our house burned down. We lost all of that," Kenny started. "Damn it, is that why? She had something that would lead us to him? He nearly killed her and Ella right then. Max hasn't ever been to Madison, and not to the hospital. Has he been to Thayer? Did we ever pick him up?"

"We're looking into all of that," Jimmy said, as Kenny sunk onto the couch in his office and buried his head in his hands. "We will find her. Max is pretty smart, she'll fight him."

Not pregnant, he thought, not if he's holding Ella over her. She killed that woman to stop him. Max, the love of my life, we had other options. You didn't have to do this. "She attracts crazies. Look at her history, guys she dated, perps, she's so damn reckless with her life. How could she do this?"

 **Killers Den: Day 9**

"It's pregnancy," Max mumbled, as she threw up again. Not emotional, don't let him believe that. I need to be in control for him. "I'm sorry, just the smell this time. Oh."

He knelt down beside her, and rubbed slow circles on her back. "What can I do?"

Let me go, she thought, let my daughter leave this place. Turn back time so I never came to you, she thought, his hand warm through her shirt. Feeling oddly comforted by his gentle touch and concern, despite her disgust with him. "I'm okay. Really. It happened when I was pregnant with Ella too, I would just smell something and start vomiting. You don't have to look so worried about me."

He sat down beside her, his arm still wrapped around her. Handing her a bottle of water, he gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Of course I'm worried about you. I'm not the monster you want to believe I am."

"You're giving me lessons on how to be a serial killer in some underground bunker. Monster seems fitting most days."

"I enjoy killing. I also enjoy gourmet cooking, golf, and camping," he said. "I'm very much enjoying my time with you."

Max shivered, as he brushed her hair back and drew her close to him. I can't let this happen. He has my daughter. I hate him more for that then making me kill people. Don't forget what he is. "What are you doing?"

"I enjoy my time with you," he repeated. "Are you feeling better?"

Max nodded, her nausea coming from something else now, as she settled back against his chest. "Are we going to train some more?"

"Not today," he smiled. "Keep talking to me, Maxine."

 **Kenny's Apartment: Day 12**

Flipping through the few remains of our life, he thought, the fire took most of our stuff, this lunatic our daughter and Max ran off to him with our unborn kid. I have nothing without them. My wife didn't trust me enough to back her up. To help her. Who did I really marry?

 **Killers Den: Day 12**

Three people, she thought numbly, I've killed three people. He's waiting. Say it. "I want to dissect the kidneys again on Number Four. I can detail it for you. I couldn't stop the bleeding fast enough on the third go around."

"We'll get to Number Four. You did very well on Number Three. Your cutting was much more controlled. How did it make you feel?"

Numb, horrible. "I want to see Ella."

"Now, Maxine," he said, pulling her up so she was facing her. "Ella misses you too, but I don't think you're taking your training seriously. If you want to see her, you need to work with me. I need to see that you're serious about our new life together and your training."

"What do I need to do to see her? I've killed three people. I practice on the torsos in between. My Kill plans are detailed. I'm learning. I'm changing," she said, fighting to keep her voice even. "I'm already thinking about what I want to do to Number Four, Five and Six, and Three is barely cleaned off the table. I'm not the same person you brought here."

"What are you, Maxine?"

"I can't say it yet…it makes it real."

He smiled at that, as he massaged her shoulders on the couch. "That is the problem. You're not accepting the reality of your situation yet. You're not committed yet. Anyone can kill. You're are a killer. You're going to live and breathe what you are. You need to trust the process."

"The process of making me into a serial killer."

"You've killed three people, you are a serial killer, My Love. You just need to accept that."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 15**

"Michael Hunter," Thompson said. "We may have caught something on him."

Harvard medical, Jimmy thought, talented surgeon…bodies left in his wake. Why Max? Why now? Kenny is drinking himself into a coma.

"We followed his medical career, Boston, Miami, Chicago, there was an uptick in the bodies found. It always ended with a sloppy kill, like the one that Max did. He was here, eight years ago, on a hunting trip with his brother and father. Max wrote him a ticket. It's when he bought the cabin and he made the move to Greenbay a few months later. He's been watching her for years. His apartment is under the name Max Hunter."

"Get a warrant."

 **Killers Den: Day 15**

Number Four, Max thought, standing over her bound victim. I can do this. Remember my training. I need to embrace being a serial killer. He needs to see me doing that.

"Please," she begged, causing Max to step back. "Please don't do this."

"You're not gagged," Max said flatly, looking around. Stepping toward the counter, her ankle shackle prevented her from reaching them. "Oh, he didn't gag you."

"You don't always have the benefit of a soundproof operating room, Maxine," he said over the speaker. "Get started."

She looked back at the woman. "I'd prefer if you didn't scream."

She screamed again, fighting against the restraints, as Max turned the scalpel over in her hands, letting her training take over. Serial Killer. Make it hurt.

"I could slit your throat to shut you up," she said, dragging the blade gently across her jugular. "Or sever your vocal cords, but I think I prefer this."

She screamed, as Max gripped her tongue tightly. Squeezing, she stared into the eyes of the woman that wouldn't leave the room alive, and cut her tongue out.

Perfect, he thought, leaning back and watching. She's just perfect.

 **The Hunter Apartment: Day 15**

"This is a mistake," Michael Hunter said. "You're not looking for me."

"You're not the man we brought in," Jimmy said, looking at him. "You don't know her?"

Michael looked at the photograph of Max, curled up on the couch with Ella in happier times. "She's my brother's girlfriend. They're traveling together…I haven't seen him in years or met their daughter. He's supposed to be bringing her to meet the family soon, they're having their second child."

"Have you met her?"

"No. He's supposed to be bringing her to our parent's house for Christmas."

That's six months from now, Jimmy thought, he's already had her for three weeks. "Do you have a way to contact him?"

"Noah?" he said. "He likes to be off the grid."

"Noah Hunter? That's his name?"

"Noah Quinn. We're half brothers. He sent me a package, I haven't opened it. I just got back from a mission trip to India. Hold on."

"Why do you have a fake name on your apartment?"

"I do a lot of work at the free clinic, and well, patients used to come to my door. My landlord agreed to change the name on it. Here."

Jimmy took the padded envelope gingerly. "We need to know if he contacts you. She isn't his girlfriend. She is a pregnant, kidnapped, Deputy. He took her and her daughter three weeks ago."

"Impossible. He's sent pictures of them together for years," Michael argued. "I can show you…Damn it, Noah, what did you do?"

"Tell me about your brother."

 **Killers Den: Day 15**

Max sipped her tea, as he slid dinner in front of her. "This looks good."

"So do you," he teased. "I'm glad you decided to change."

She looked down at one of short swing dresses he liked to see her in. "Thank you."

"I thought you would slice her throat," he commented, as she cut her lamb silently. "What made you go for the tongue?"

Max swallowed her lamb, keeping her emotions and feelings in control. "She would have bled out in minutes. I wanted to see how the heart worked first. Can you pass the mint jelly?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Kenny's Apartment: Day 15**

"Get up," Jill said. "You're not helping her at all like this. Jimmy wants you down at the station."

Kenny kicked the pile of beer bottles on the floor. "Max doesn't want my help."

"She asked you to find her if she wasn't back. She knew you would," she said. "Are you going to give up on her? On Ella and your unborn child?"

"She left me. I know why, she thought she had to save Ella. She still left, she didn't want me to back her up," Kenny trailed off, his head killing him from the drinking. "Part of me…She was scared, but…part of me almost thinks she went to him because she was intrigued by his intentions toward her."

"You think Max wanted this?"

"She thinks she's invincible. She would think she could beat him at his own game."

"And if she can't?"

"She killed someone, we all saw the video. That was her first day with him. What has he made her do since?"

"Get up. You're going to work."

 **Hunter Apartment: Day 15**

"Noah and I, we share a mom," Michael said. "She married my Dad when I was four and Noah was three. Noah's Dad was a drunk, he died when we were teenagers. My Dad…You need to understand what he was like before you can understand Noah. I thought Noah finally was happy, that he moved on…I never thought he would be capable of what you're claiming."

Jimmy sat back. His brother has my deputy, she and Kenny are like my own children. We're not leaving her with him. "Where would he take her?"

"I assumed you searched for the cabin? Noah torched it when we were kids," Michael said. "Dad brought us down here to hunt, man time, and junk. He…Dad sucked. He knocked our mom around…she vanished and the cops found her butchered and buried under our porch. Dad shot himself before he could be arrested. You can run the check on Mona and Dan Hunter, it was a big case about 20 years ago in Michigan. Noah, he…he went off the grid after that. He changed his name back to Quinn, his Dad's name and…You really think her hurt all those women?"

Jimmy nodded. "We know he did. Where would he take Max? He wants to make her like him."

He shook his head. "Our family is dead, and I haven't seen my brother in 15 years. I'll give you everything he sent me, but…Noah's been gone from my life for years.

 **Sheriff Station: Day 15**

"Ten years?" Kenny asked numbly, looking at the collection of photoshopped pictures. "From a traffic stop? She's done thousands and…that's why he took her? Why did he wait so long?"

"To prepare," Jimmy said. "He wanted it just right when he took her."

"So, he can train her. He's not making my wife into," Kenny started. "Why Max?"

 **Killers Den: Day 17**

Just another day in serial killer training, Max thought, as she carefully stitched up her victim. Shaking herself, not funny, he's turned me into a serial killer, albeit reluctantly. She studied her clean stitching, as she cut the string off. No more cadavers since I puked, nothing but live victims. God, he's right, I've killed four people, and now taunting these women by cutting them up and putting them back in their cages? I'm not just a serial killer, I'm a god damn psychopath. "She's done."

He nodded, watching as she rubbed her pregnant belly. "Nice work. Take a seat, you need to take care of yourself too. Here. It's full of protein."

She looked at the bound woman on the table, as she took a sip. "It's good."

"She'll keep awhile," he said. "What's going in there? You're tense.""

"I've been practicing for two days. I just," Max started. taking a long drink, as he slowly rubbed her shoulders. He is good at this, she thought reluctantly, hating herself for melting in his warm hands. "I'm just getting restless."

He smiled slowly, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "You want to kill?"

Max gulped at that, both afraid and intrigued by what she was feeling. "Yes. This one, right now."

He pulled her back up, studying her thoughtfully. "Finish your smoothie first."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 20**

No leads, no evidence, no contact since the video of her stabbing that woman to death and having a total mental breakdown over it, Jimmy thought, sifting through the doctored pictures of Max with Noah Quinn. He knows her, he thought, he's been watching her. He chose her.

"Sir? Kenny doesn't look good," Thompson said. "I don't want him to hear this."

Jimmy gestured for him to close the door, well aware of his broken deputy out there. Max broke him, he thought, with this stunt. She even asked him to rescue her and he can't…she knew what she was doing and the position she put us all in. "What do we have?"

"Michael Hunter said he hasn't seen his brother in 15 years? This one isn't doctored."

Jimmy looked at the picture for a long moment, the two brothers standing over the desecrated deer corpse, time stamped two years ago. "Get him back in here."

 **Killers Den: Day 20**

Max looked at him, as he patted the spot on his large bed next to him. "I'm not going back to my room?"

"You'll be much more comfortable here," he teased, looking at her in the crisp cotton pajamas. "That room was only meant to be temporary. You do want to be here?"

She nodded, as he held his hand out to her and helped ease her five-month pregnant body onto his bed. "Thank you."

"Lay back," he said, wrapping his arms around her, as she settled against his chest as he liked her too. Rubbing her shoulders, he kissed her cheek. "You deserve a rest after your good work today. Much improved, Maxine."

She nodded, feeling oddly content as his warm hands massaged her shoulders. He shouldn't be touching me like this…I shouldn't be in bed with him. Kenny will never forgive me…I'm never going back to Kenny. "Thank you. I went over your notes, they were helpful."

"Why did you to so well? It's not just to see Ella?"

"I miss her," Max said quietly, as his hands continued rub her back. Oh, this feels good. "You know that. Doing Six and Seven back to back...I really felt a difference and it was easier to correct my mistakes."

"You're on the edge of greatness, Maxine."

She nodded, moaning, as he worked the knots out of her back. "Where did you learn…oh this feels good. To do this?"

He nuzzled her neck, before rotating her so she was straddling him. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in closer. "There are so many things I want to do with you."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 20**

Michael sighed as he looked at the picture. "Okay, I lied, I did see Noah. He's my little brother, it was one weekend."

"Where is he?" Jimmy demanded. "He's had Max for three weeks. If you don't want to be thrown in jail for obstructing an investigation, you tell us right now."

"Noah has been obsessed with her for 10 years. He said she had the same darkness in her that he has. He rambled on and on about making her harness it."

"We know he wants to make her a serial killer. He was clear on that."

"If he's had her for three weeks, there is a good chance she already is one. Whether she wants to be or not."

 **Killers Den: Day 20**

No, Max thought, no, I shouldn't…I'm married. He's insane. A killer who made me into one. Oh, what is he doing to me?

"Will you undress for me?"

She rubbed his chest, letting her fingers fiddle with the hem of his t-shirt, she let her hands roam up his hard chest. Leaning in, she kissed him, allowing herself to really enjoy his lips on hers for the first time. Hearing his yelp of surprise, she sat back. "Oh…it's the baby. Here, feel."

He looked at her in shock, as she took his hand and laid it on her stomach. "Does it hurt?"

She looked up and smiled at him. "Not really. You've never felt a baby kick?"

This Maxine, he thought, her level of intimacy with me at this moment. She's not just my pupil now, she's exactly what I want. Exquisite, glowing, completely mine. "It doesn't bother you?"

She kept her hand on his, enjoying feeling her baby kick. "No. Did you feel it?"

"Yes, I felt it," he said, using his free arm to draw her close to him again.

She looked up, her heart pounding in her chest, as he slid his hand from her pregnant stomach and tilted her face to his. Reckless, she thought, that's what this is, in bed with the man who killed dozens, who is patiently teaching me, delighting in what I am…the part of me that Kenny berates, when he tells me I'm a wife and mother now, to be careful, like I'm a fragile bird. Not anymore. She leaned in and kissed him again, enjoying his warm hands on her as they fell back onto the comforter together. Pulling back, she stroked his cheek, as they began to shed their clothes. "What's your name?"

He kissed her again, wanting to hear her say it. "Noah."

"Noah," she repeated, as he pulled her on top of him. "Make me yours, Noah."


	5. Chapter 5

**Killers Den: Day 21**

What did I do, Max thought, as she lay is his arms the next morning? Letting him train me to kill is one thing, I agreed to it, sleeping with him…I want to sleep with him again. Just like I want to keep slicing jugulars. It really is the most effective way to bleed them out. Noah likes to make them suffer, and extending that is fun…I really think I like the efficiency of the jugular. She shook herself, turning her dark thoughts over in her mind, I do like making them suffer. "Good Morning."

He squeezed her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms almost as much as watching her blossoming into her new life. "I was hoping you'd sleep in."

She leaned back against him. Danger, she thought, that's what I'm responding to. Knowing what he is, what I am now, I like the danger of all of this. He's changing my recklessness into something beautiful. "I know we have a long day ahead."

"I was tempted to let you play hooky this morning."

Max rolled over, so they were looking at each other. "I never cut school a day in my life."

He smiled slowly at her. Changed, he thought, she knows what she is now. "You've done a lot of new things recently."

"More today?" she asked, as he explored her mouth with his. "You're still my teacher, Noah."

"And you are a better student than I ever imagined," he said. "This new development, we need some guidelines as you continue your training. We can discuss over breakfast."

 **Sheriff Station: Day 21**

She isn't coming back, Kenny thought, staring at the picture on his desk. My Max, he thought, looking at their family photo. She was my dream wife, the only woman I ever truly wanted, did she ever trust me? Did she ever want this? Resisted us getting together, was pissed when she found out we were married, constantly risked her life while she was pregnant. She tried after Ella was born, she's such a good mom…damn it, Max. Reckless, didn't want my help, what is he doing to her? Damn it, I dragged her into our relationship and I can't drag her back home to me.

 **Killers Den: Day 21**

My teacher in here, Max thought, and my lover in the bedroom. He's very good at both jobs.

"I changed my grip, like we talked about," she said, as she looked at Number Eight. "I was worried about slicing into the lungs too deeply before I could flood them."

He nodded, checking the small cuts I in them. "I see."

She smiled back at him, enjoying his admiration. "They were delicate. I cut and cauterized them a few times, I hadn't done that on a live victim yet, it's messier than I would prefer, but…it extended her time with me. I'll do it better next time."

Perfection, he thought, watching her examine her work. "Which blade did you use?"

"The two," she said. "I thought about the four, but didn't want to nick anything with the serrated edge."

"How do you feel?" he asked. "You're glowing, My Love."

Max looked up from where she was studying her final cuts. "Well, I am five months pregnant."

He shook his head. "How did this one feel? How do you feel?"

"I've never felt like this," she started, seeing him studying her. "It all came together this time."

He smiled at that, enjoying her giddiness at her success and their recent developments this time. "You've been embracing your training, and you learned from your mistakes. Look at what you achieved here. You had her for eight hours. You bled her and refilled her three times. You tortured her this time, you toyed with her. You enjoyed yourself. This was the first time, Maxine, the real first time, you really felt who you are."

"I still have so much to learn."

"You know how to kill. You could tear apart our captives in less time than it takes me to cook you breakfast."

She nodded, knowing it was true. "Do they always have to be strapped to the table? Can we try something different for Number Nine, Noah?"

 **Crime Scene: Day 32**

Not Max, Kenny thought, looking at the eight carved up bodies, there is no way. He's messing with us, she couldn't…it's been 32 days. It's four days in between each one. She's not capable of this. Reckless and unpredictable, but never this.

"We may have something here," Carter said, extracting a ring from Number Five's throat. "A ring."

Jimmy turned it over, looking at the inscription. "Kenny!"

He knelt down beside his boss, as he looked at the ring in his hand. Feeling his heart drop to his knees. "She didn't do this. I don't care if that's her wedding ring."

"It was in the victim's throat. She was a part of this."

 **Killers Den: Day 35**

"Noah?" Max asked, stopping dead in her tracks. Steadying herself on the wall, all she could do is stare as she watched him baking cookies with Ella. She's okay…she's laughing, she likes him. She's okay. "Ella?"

"Mommy!" she shrieked, running across the kitchen and throwing herself in Max's arms. "Mommy, I missed you!"

Max hugged her tightly. Don't cry. It's a test. "Oh, I missed you too, Baby."

"Noah said you were in school. You're home now. No more school, Mommy."

Max nodded, kissing her cheek. "Yes, I'm home. What are you baking?"

"Cookies. Chocolate chip. Noah said you like them," Ella said, touching her pregnant stomach. "Baby likes them."

"You're going to be a great big sister. Oh, don't cry, Sweetie, I'm right here."

"Maxine, would you like to join us?" Noah asked. "Ella is quite a little chef. If you finished your homework?"

She nodded, picking up Ella as she stood up. "Why now? I thought I wasn't ready yet."

"You deserve a reward for your hard work, My Love. Ella, don't you want your Mommy to stay with us?"

Ella nodded, hugging her. "Stay, Mommy?"

Max smiled, as Noah kissed her. "Forever."

 **Sheriff Station: 4 Months Gone**

"I can't," Kenny said. "I'll never accept that Max could…I can't stay here. Not without her and Ella. I'm going to my parents and I'm not coming back here."

"Kenny, we'll never give up on her," Jimmy started.

"You think she killed those women."

"I think she was there. She either watched him or participated, of her own free will or not."

"I can't stay here. I quit."

 **Killers Den: 4 Months Gone**

Almost time, Max thought, stroking her eight-month pregnant stomach. She leaned against the car, waiting and watching. Inhaling the night air, she smiled to herself as the tow truck pulled up behind her. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here."

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked.

Max smiled at him, leaning up against the care again. "It just died on me."

"Let me take a look under the hood. Can you pop it?"

She nodded. "Thanks. My husband isn't picking up and my daughter is passed out in the back. I wasn't sure how I would get home."

"My wife is pregnant too," he said, as she popped the hood. "How far along?"

"Eight months," she said. "We're getting excited."

"That we are," Noah said, jamming the needle in his neck. "Nice work."

Max yawned, as she unbuckled Ella from the back seat. "This was almost too easy."

 **Chicago: 5 Months Gone**

"She was scared," his Mom said. "Kenny, she loves you, Ella and your baby, more than she could say when she was here. You can't give up on her."

He looked up. "She left me to go see a serial killer. She knew this could happen. She thought she could waltz right up to him, he'd let Ella go and she thought she'd be fine. She's always been this way, she's reckless, fearless, way too prideful to ask for help. I've saved her from herself so many times and this…I want to bring her home. There is no trail, nothing leads anywhere."

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

"I would have Michael do it," Noah said, as they lounged on their bed with Ella between them. "I don't want him near Ella. He's a bit of a pedophile."

Max nodded, listening to her four-year-old sound out words in her book. "I can't believe you've been teaching her to read."

"I enjoy teaching."

"You're a great teacher."

"When we're away from here, in our new house," he said. "Our new life, Maxine, I may explore being a teacher for my day job."

"They'd be lucky to have you."

Perfection, he thought again, my greatest accomplishment is right here with me. "Drink?"

She sipped the smoothie, more blood than fruit these days. "I'm starting to warm up to these. The fruit is kind of distraction."

"You don't need to have it anymore."

"Mommy, can I try?" Ella asked, touching the glass. "Please?"

"Go ahead," Max said, as she clamored in Noah's lap. "Careful, Sweetie, you don't want to spill it."

"We still need to talk about this. I could deliver it myself, but," he smiled. "I'm not a doctor. We need one. I want to ensure that you and our baby are safe and healthy."

"We can find one."

"How about one you know? We'll leave this place with a victim they won't forget."

Max smiled at him, as Ella finished her smoothie. "I'd really like that, Noah."

* * *

Final Chapter Will Be Up Tomorrow...It'll be a doozy for you.


	6. Chapter 6

**Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

"I didn't think I'd be back in here," Max said, looking at the small room she lived in for her first three weeks with him. That woman, she thought, she feared him and what he wanted to do and create with me. Why did I ever feel like that? "They know I killed the first one, you sent them the tape. She might not believe me."

"You're quite an actress," he said, as she arched her back and rubbed her stomach a bit. "You've played the pregnant victim in a cage very well."

"They're so dumb," she sighed, thinking of the scenario that played out. Them excited we're escaping, and then me slicing their carotid artery. "They didn't know me before, Noah. Jill Brock did."

"If she doesn't believe you, we just don't get to play with her. She still can deliver our baby."

Max nodded, as she sat on her former twin bed. Actress. "I'll almost miss this place when we're gone."

 **Carpenter Road: 5 Months Gone**

Jimmy Brock stood by his wife's abandon car in shock. Her purse on the seat, keys in the ignition, she cannot be gone. Feeling the same shock and horror that Kenny did five months ago. It's not same, she's not missing. Noah Quinn and Max…no sign of them. They aren't here. Max wouldn't be a part of this, no matter what he's made her do.

"We have a APB out. We're checking tow companies, the hospital, traffic cams. We'll find her, Sheriff."

The same thing I told Kenny five months ago.

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

No, Jill Brock thought, no. This isn't right. Looking over at her friend curled up in the corner, with her ankle shackled to the floor and arms wrapped around her pregnant stomach. They had it wrong…she's a prisoner here. "Max?"

She looked up, her long hair falling in her face. "No…"

"We've been so worried about you."

Max shook her head, scrambling up into a sitting position and away from her. "You're not real. You don't belong here."

"Neither do you."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Max sobbed. "He's going to kill us both…he wanted a doctor to deliver my baby and…he's going to kill us both now."

Not a killer, Jill thought, looking at her sobbing and hysterical friend. He didn't make her into one, he just wants her baby. All the bodies, her ring, what he told them, was to put doubt out there. This is Max, she was too strong for him. "There are two of us, we can overpower him."

Max continued to sob. "He's going to kill us."

 **Brock House: 5 Months Gone**

"Dad?" Matthew asked. "Is the same guy who took Max? Is he going to make Mom kill someone?"

The video that went viral, Jimmy thought, Murder Mom they called her. He didn't take Max, she went to him. "No. We'll find her."

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

"Max," Jill said. "What happened? Where is Ella?"

"He has her. He won't let me see her. After he kills me…he'll take her and the baby. I couldn't do what he wanted. After the first time, I couldn't…"

"Ladies," Noah said appearing at the door. "Are you making your new roommate feel at home, Maxine?"

Jill looked at her friend's expression of abject horror and revulsion, as he knelt in front of her and felt her stomach. "Get away from her."

He smiled at Max, brushing back her tangled hair. "You need to take better care of yourself, My Love, if we want our baby to be healthy."

"Don't touch me."

"Still a little fighter," he teased. "Oh, what could have been if you accepted me. Look at this."

Max yelped, looking at the puddle between her legs. "Oh…no…Ow.

"Looks like I'm going to be a Daddy."

"Where are you taking her?" Jill yelled, as he pulled a shaky Max up on her feet. "Max!"

"Do I have to shackle you?" he asked, holding her by her forearms. "Are you going to fight me?"

She shook her head, as a contraction hit her. "Oh, God. It's happening."

He undid her ankle shackle and picked her up is arms. "Don't cry, Maxine. You know how I feel about tears. Even Ella doesn't cry with me anymore. I'll be back for you, Dr. Brock."

Max sighed, as he kicked the door shut behind him and relaxed in his arms. "I can walk."

He kissed the top of her head. "You did wonderfully with her."

"It was easier than I thought it would be," she admitted, as he carried her down to the birthing room he had constructed in their bunker. "You better shackle me to the bed. I am your prisoner. Oh, crap, I forgot how much these hurt."

"Do you need the doctor?" he asked, securing both her ankles to the bed. "Not too tight?"

She shook her head, as she settled back against the pillows. "No. Noah?"

"Maxine?"

"I can't wait for you to meet our baby."

 **Sheriff Station: 5 Months Gone**

"This came," Thompson said, handing Jimmy the DVD. "Unmarked envelope, just like…"

"Just like the Max murder film?" Jimmy asked flatly sliding it into the computer. Please no. "What is this?"

Thompson gulped, as he looked a completely tormented and very pregnant Maxine Lacos and Jill Brock shackled to the floor together. "That's Noah Quinn with them."

Watching Max's horror as Noah touched her and Jill screaming at her to stop as Max went into labor, Jimmy's resolve hardened. "There aren't any windows, no light. Even if that open door. They're underground."

"Bomb shelter?"

Jimmy nodded. "We need a list of every one of them in a 200-mile radius. Look at the time stamp. This was shot yesterday. We're getting Kenny back here and bringing Jill and Max back."

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

"Push, Max," Jill said. "You're doing great."

My baby, she thought, our baby. Squeezing Noah's hand, she pushed. "Oh, God."

"You're doing wonderfully, Maxine," Noah said, wiping her brow. "You're giving me a great gift."

"Don't hurt my baby."

"You came to me. You agreed to the training then refused. You broke your promise," he said, not taking his eyes off her. "It could have been so perfect."

"You're a monster."

He kissed her temple, as she squeezed his hand in agony. "Very nice."

"One more, Max," Jill said, as her horror of watching Noah Quinn dote on Max while she was delivering her baby grew. He's sick. "Push."

She closed her eyes, pushing with everything she had left. Letting out a sob, as an infant's cry pierced the air. "Oh…Oh."

"She's perfect, Max."

"I had a girl?" Max asked, falling against the pillows as Jill examined her. "She's okay?"

Jill clamped the cord, and looked over at Noah Quinn fussing over an exhausted Max. "Max?"

She groaned, as Noah held the glass of water out to her to drink and kissed her forehead. "I'm so tired."

"You did wonderfully," Noah said, tilting her face to his. "It's a shame, My Love, I had such hopes for us. Give her the baby, Dr. Brock. She needs to say good-bye."

Jill hugged the infant to her. "What are you going to do to her? She needs to feed him, she needs the nutrients from her breast milk."

Noah looked back at the bed. "Maxine? Will you feed her?"

She nodded, aching to see her child. "I want to see her, Jill."

"Max," Jill said, as she couldn't reach the bed to hand her over. "To him?"

"She's my daughter," Noah said. "Our daughter."

Max watched Noah cuddling their baby before passing her over. In wonder she stroked the tiny limbs. I forgot, she thought, how little they are. How perfect she is right now. Dark hair, Kenny's eyes, she thought, faltering a bit. Don't let Noah see. Kenny…he cried when Ella was born. He was so excited about me being pregnant. No…It's done. I'm not safe. "She's beautiful."

"Will you be all right?" Noah asked, smiling slowly as he watched them together. "I'm taking our guest to her accommodations."

Max nodded, entranced in her newborn. "I'll be fine."

 **Chicago: 5 Months Gone**

Not a serial killer, Kenny thought, a prisoner. All this time… "I should have looked harder. He took Jill Brock, put her in with Max and…Max. She's…How could I have given up?"

"There were no leads, you know that. She vanished off the face of the earth. Bring her home. You can help her heal whatever he did to her."

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

Max looked up, happy in their bed now with Hannah and Ella. "Is she waiting for me?"

"You need to rest and take care of our daughters," Noah said. "How are you feeling? You almost broke my hand."

Max smiled at him, shifting a feeding Hannah slightly. "Are you going to join us?"

He slid on the bed next to her, and pick a laughing Ella into his lap. "We're leaving tomorrow if you're up to it."

Her smiled widened, as she leaned in to kiss him. "I can't wait."

"We need to take care of a few things first."

I haven't killed in six weeks, she thought, feeling the itch to be unbearable. "That I'm looking forward to."

 **Sheriff Station: 5 Months Gone**

"Michael Hunter said Noah's biological father was dead," Jimmy said. "Going back in the Quinn family…they had camp and a bomb shelter. One hundred miles north of here. The records were buried."

"Why didn't we know?" Kenny asked. Max, damn it, Max. You're okay, I can fix this for you. "How did we miss it?"

"There were no records, until Michael Hunter was picked up in the pedophile ring. He knew about the bunker and his brother. He knew where he was keeping them."

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

Jill struggled against her restraints as she lay in their operating room. "Please, don't do this."

"They all beg," Noah admitted. "You made Maxine have an easy delivery, which I'll always be thankful for. I do care for her after our time here together."

"Let her go. Let us both go."

"Why would I let her go?" Noah asked. "After I spent so much time training her?"

Jill froze at that, as a knock came at the door. "What?"

"There you are," Noah smiled, taking her hand in his. "The kids settled in?"

Max nodded, setting the baby monitor on the cabinets. "Hannah is fed and napping and Ella is really into that book. I can't believe you taught her to read at age four."

"She's a great student. Just like her mother."

"Max?" Jill asked in horror, as she sunk into to Noah's arms and kissed him. "Oh, God."

"Hello Jill," Max said. "Thank you for delivering Hannah for us."

"Max," she tried again, seeing her old friend. "You don't have to do this. This isn't you."

"It's been six weeks," Max said. "My last month or so of being pregnant made me kind of sluggish. I watched Noah quite a bit, but it's not the same as doing it myself. You delivered Hannah, I can make it quick. As a thank you for that."

"She's a doctor. It's her job."

Max shrugged. "We don't know how long we have before Hannah wakes up. I don't like leaving my work unfinished."

"We could store her and finish later," he started, enjoying the dark look in her eyes. Cold, calculated, he thought, turning off the joy Hannah had brought her. "Maxine!"

She thrust the scalpel into his carotid artery and shoved him to the ground. Pushing it upward, his blood sprayed her in his face. Die, she thought, die. "You should have never kept Ella away from me. You made me this way. How did you think it would end?"

He reached out for her, choking on his blood, as she kicked him in the neck. His dying vision of her, shoving another scalpel in his heart.

"Max?" Jill asked, as he blood covered friend stood up. "Max?"

She turned and looked at her. "I'll be back for you. I don't want Ella seeing me like this."

 **Sheriff Station: 5 Months Gone**

"Warrants are in," Thompson said, looking at Jimmy and Kenny. "Are you ready?"

I'm coming, Max, Kenny thought. Hold on, Honey.

 **Killers Den: 5 Months Gone**

"It's okay," Max said quietly, as she wrapped baby Hannah to her chest. "We're going for a ride Ella…Noah will meet us there. You can bring your book. Are you ready?"

Ella nodded, as Max punched the code into the metal door. They can't end up like me. They're not safe with me. Glancing at the trunk where she stowed a sedated and bound Jill, she fought back her tears. For them. I can live with myself like this if Ella and Hannah are safe. I'm a killer, I let Noah remake me into one, I enjoy being one and watching life drain out of people. Let me do this one good thing for my children…Kenny will protect them. He won't let me hurt them.

"Mommy?" Ella asked, as she strapped her into the backseat. "You look sad."

Max kissed her forehead. "How can I be sad with you and Hannah? Can you read to me while we drive?"

Ella nodded, as she picked up the anatomy book, as Max started the car. "Veins."

 **Quinn Camp: 5 Months Gone**

"Holy crap," Kenny said, as they stood over the slaughtered body of Noah Quinn, as the local cops and FBI tore apart the compound. "What is this place?"

"There is video footage," Morell said. "Cells, bedrooms, kitchen, it's empty but recently lived in. That's him?"

"They got away."

 **The Border: 5 Months Gone**

"Max?" Jill asked, as she cuffed her to the steering wheel. "What are you doing?"

"I can't have you coming after me," Max said. "You're bringing my children home, Jill. They need to be with their father."

"Come with us."

Max shook her head. "I can't."

"You killed him to save us."

She leaned in and kissed a sleeping Ella and Hannah one last time. Not safe with me. I won't hurt them. "What about the other 18 that I killed with Noah? I'm a serial killer, Jill. Noah brought something out in me that was in there all along and I like it. I'm going to keep killing, and I won't hurt my kids because of what I am now. Take them home."

"Max!" she yelled, as she backed away from the car and began her hike across the border. "Max!"

 **Epilogue: 3 Years Later: Chicago**

"Do you like it, Daddy?" seven-year old Ella asked, as she handed him the picture in the child psychologists office. "I made it for you."

"It's, uh, detailed," Kenny said, looking at paper. Another bloody torso, he thought, detailed. No. "Can you give us a minute, Ella?"

She nodded, hugging him. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Kiddo," he said, sliding the drawing back onto the desk. "She hasn't drawn this in months. Not since we found the cat on the porch."

Dr. Bailey nodded. "How are her nightmares?"

"She wakes up calling for her mother," Kenny said. She still remembers Max, and their time in the bunker with Noah. "My parents and me, we've done…She doesn't know what her mom did. Just that she's gone. If it was up to me, she'd never know."

"Ella needs love. She is very attached to what Noah taught her. She learned to read with anatomy books, bake with flesh and blood ,he showed her autopsy videos and she is still talking about the puppy" she continued. "She loves you very much, Mr. Lacos. I'll keep working with her. How is Thursday?"

"I'll do whatever it takes," Kenny started, not wanting to think of the Ella dissecting puppy video which he found more disturbing than the 18 videos of Max training with Noah, as a scream erupted from the lobby. Jumping up, he ran after Dr. Bailey. Freezing, he felt his heart drop. "Ella."

"Look Daddy!" she squealed, pointing at the scissors in the receptionist's leg. "It's like my picture."

* * *

A/N: One more story in this saga is forthcoming. Kenny and Max's love story is far from over.


End file.
